A large late 19th century Japanese tomato ground vase

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR AUCTION PURCHASERS

1. These Terms and Conditions apply to all transactions relating to the purchase of items by a bidder (referred to as “you”) at auction or as an auction after-sale by The Pedestal Limited, trading as The Pedestal (referred to as “we”), and may not be varied unless agreed in writing in advance by one of our directors. By registering to bid and/or bidding you accept these terms.

2. We act as agent for the seller whose identity we will not disclose, unless otherwise stated.

3. When we offer items for consignment at auction, we will usually include in the auction listing a description of the lot and an estimate of potential sale value. Upon request we may also supply a condition report, which will be based on a visual inspection of each lot without disassembly or further investigation of physical condition, and on information available to us at the time. All information is provided after due consideration and to the best of our knowledge and experience, but cannot be taken as a statement of fact, a guarantee or statement of value or a guarantee or statement that mechanical or electrical parts are functioning correctly or at all.

4. All measurements provided are approximate. Colours of any image depicted in any printed catalogue, on our website or otherwise may not appear the same as colours perceived on physical inspection. 

5. Lots offered for sale will be available for viewing in person at such place and times as are advertised before the auction. We always recommend inspection in person.

6. A registration form will be available on our website, at the auction or upon request and must be completed in advance of the auction by anyone wishing to bid. You may will be required to provide proof of identity and proof of address unless you are already known to us and have previously done so. A separate fee will be levied and separate registration will be required for online bidding, whether on our own or a third party platform.

FOR SUCCESSFUL BIDDERS ON OUR ONLINE BIDDING PLATFORM (THE PEDESTAL LIVE) A CHARGE OF 3% PLUS VAT WILL BE LEVIED WHICH IS ADDITIONAL TO OUR BUYER’S PREMIUM (SEE CLAUSE 15)

7. Commission bids may be refused unless they have been entered on our registration form and accepted in advance of the auction.

8. We may at our discretion accept bids from someone acting on behalf of a third party, subject to receiving a letter of authorisation which is satisfactory to us. In the event that such a bid is successful we reserve the right to treat either the bidder or the third party as the successful bidder for all purposes including as regards obtaining payment for the lot.

9. Auctions are conducted according to our discretion and that of our auctioneer. We may refuse to allow access to the auction, refuse or accept any bid, alter the order of lots and/or the bidding in such way as we think best, withdraw any lot, reopen bidding after the hammer has fallen, determine who is the successful bidder, cancel the sale of any lot or otherwise regulate the auction and all associated proceedings as we deem most appropriate. Our decision in relation to any dispute relating to bidding which may arise during or after the auction is final. We may (but are not obliged to) offer bidding in person, by commission bids left with us in advance of the auction, by telephone, or online via our own or a third party platform. We will not in any event be liable for any failure to take a bid whether caused by breakdown of communications technology or otherwise.

10. Both the auction as a whole and calls used for telephone bids may be recorded and such recordings may be retained by us and by participating in the same you consent to such recording and retention.

11. Most lots are offered subject to a reserve below which the lot will not be sold. The level of the reserve is confidential between ourselves and our seller but will not be higher than the lower estimate.

12. We may enter one or more bids consecutively or otherwise on behalf of the seller up to but not beyond the level of the reserve.

13. Subject only to the auctioneer’s discretion set out in clause 9 above, when the auctioneer’s hammer falls no further bids will be accepted and a contract for sale is formed between the successful bidder and ourselves as agent for the seller.

14. We will endeavour to send out invoices promptly by mail or email using the contact details supplied to us by the successful bidder. If you believe that you are the successful bidder for any lot but have not heard from us within three working days of the auction we recommend that you contact us to arrange collection and avoid potential storage charges.

15. We will charge a buyer’s fee of 25% on the first £50,000 of the hammer price of each lot, and 20% of any portion of such hammer price which is above £50,000, plus VAT. 

16. Payment for each lot which you have purchased including all associated fees, charges and taxes is due no later than 7 calendar days after the auction. Payment can be made only by the registered bidder. Payment instructions will be given on the relevant invoice or invoices. Please note that we do not accept payment by credit card.

17. No lot will be released and legal title will not pass to you until we have received due payment in full of all sums owed to us by you. Risk in any lot for which you are the successful bidder will pass to you on the earlier of collection of the lot by you or on your behalf, or the due date for payment for such lot.

18. If you fail to make due payment for any lot we may, at our discretion and without limitation to other available remedies, bring legal proceedings against you for the unpaid sum and all associated fees and costs including professional fees (“Unpaid Sums”); retain and sell ourselves or otherwise any other lots held by us which are your property or any sums otherwise payable by us to you and use such proceeds or sums to defray the Unpaid Sums; cancel the sale, re-offer the lot and claim any shortfall and any associated costs from you; and/or pass your identity and contact details to the seller so that they can pursue legal remedies against you directly. Additionally if you are a business customer, interest on late payments may be charged at 8% above our bank’s base rate from time to time.

 19. All lots must be collected from our shipper as notified to you in the auction catalogue and otherwise, within 14 days after the auction. Storage and handling fees will be charged in relation to lots left uncollected after that date at the shipper’s standard rates from time to time. Any lots not collected within 90 days after the auction may be sold by us at our discretion, with the proceeds applied to cover all Unpaid Sums including storage and handling charges. In this event any surplus will be paid over to you, and we will claim any shortfall from you as an Unpaid Sum.

20. A lot which has been collected from our warehouse by you or a shipper acting on your behalf is deemed to have been delivered to you by us at the time of such collection.

21. For Timed Online Auctions where lots cannot be inspected in person, if you reside mostly in the UK or the European Union and in respect of the EU Consumer Rights Directive, you have the right to cancel the purchase of a lot without cause at any time in the 14 calendar days after the lot is available for collection from The Pedestal.
We request that you notify us of your decision to cancel the purchase in the 14 calendar day period which should be sent either by post to:
The Pedestal, The Dairy, Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire RG9 6HF or by email to: info@thepedestal.com
We will refund the purchase price using the same method as that used for the original purchase.
In addition, the lot must be returned to us within the 14 calendar day period after the lot was available for collection. You will be responsible for the cost of returning the lot, namely, but not restricted to: shipping, packing, insurance and any import duties incurred.
If the lot is damaged as a result of any investigations into the nature of the lot by you or others you will account for this loss. If the lot is returned damaged, we will deduct a sum from the refund to cover the cost of repair or the loss in value which results from this damage.

22. Lots which we believe to be covered by the CITES regulations will be marked with ¥ in our catalogue, but we are not responsible for advising you on any import/export issues including without limitation CITES or the like, and customs and import fees and the like. We recommend that you acquaint yourself with any relevant issues before bidding, as we cannot accept liability for any information which we may provide you with. If you purchase a lot requiring an export license it is your responsibility to obtain it, and we cannot accept rescission of the sale or offer a refund if you are unable to so obtain a permit.

23. Each seller warrants that they are the legal owner of the lot and/or have the unencumbered right to sell the lot at auction and to pass title to the successful bidder. The seller shall not be liable in the event of breach of this warranty for any amount greater than the hammer price of the lot in question. We may be liable only to the successful bidder in the event of fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation by us and exclude all other liability to such bidder and all third parties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Nothing herein shall limit your rights if any under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, or exclude our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

24. General Terms:

a. These terms are made and must be construed under English law and any disputes arising from them or from the Contract will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

b. All charges, fees, premiums and any other sums referred to herein or arising herefrom are stated net of Value Added Tax but are subject to VAT or the like at the rate or rates prevailing at the time of any transaction. VAT is not chargeable on the hammer price unless otherwise stated.

c. We will hold and process your personal data according to the conditions, for the reasons and on the bases set out in our Privacy Policy which you may access here, and as envisaged by these terms and conditions.

d. We retain copyright in all images and written and other materials prepared by us, which may not be used by you without our prior written consent.